


You make me go weak (When you kiss my cheek)

by BadBatch (Forever_Cynical)



Series: Be Brave & Trust me [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Date Night, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Recovery, Soft Hermione, soft narcissa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:35:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25207069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forever_Cynical/pseuds/BadBatch
Summary: Narcissa is in recovery, staying with Hermione she's back on the right track and wants to deal with her issues. Hermione's persuades her to let Draco in and to also, go on a date with her.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley, Lucius Malfoy/Original Female Character(s), Luna Lovegood/Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy/Lily Evans Potter, Pansy Parkinson/Padma Patil
Series: Be Brave & Trust me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1826128
Comments: 7
Kudos: 104





	You make me go weak (When you kiss my cheek)

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2! Enjoy.

It had taken a month for the sweats to stop. She still felt the longing for a bottle of gin. Still felt the longing for the edge to be taken off. Hermione told her it was to be expected. That she would no doubt always feel the pull of the bottle.

_Hermione._

She could hear her moving around the flat. Could hear her voice. She was singing. She had learned that she liked to listen to the muggle radio in the mornings. Often singing along to the songs as Narcissa listened, often teasing her that she should of become a singer instead of working for the care of magical creatures. Hermione would just smile and shake her head.

_Hermione._

Something had changed between the pair. She could feel it. That first week was horrendous. Narcissa couldn’t hold back every vile thing she thought. She’d heard herself, somewhere in the back of her mind as she was sweating and crying, calling Hermione a mudblood. She’d seen the hurt in her eyes and watched her bite her lip and ignore it.

She still didn’t quite understand why Hermione was helping her.

She didn’t deserve it but she was trying. Trying to be brave. Trying to put herself back together. She’d been Narcissa Malfoy for so long. It was hard to try and be Narcissa Black again. Hard to see herself as just Narcissa. Not Narcissa and Lucius. Not Narcissa, Draco’s mother. Just Narcissa

She dressed herself, pulling on a pair of, oh what did Hermione refer to them as… Chinos? Was that the word? Oh, she didn’t know. She was still adjusting to living in muggle London. She looked through the bag of clothes Andromeda had bought for her, for a bra and top. She pulled on a black silk shirt, and looked at herself in the mirror. It would do.

She found she looked quite attractive in muggle clothes. She’d always thought it was the alcohol making her look better to the women she had been sleeping with. She realised now that she was still quite attractive for her age. She was nearing the wrong side of forty after all.

She tied her hair back in a sensible bun and walked out to find Hermione cleaning the kitchen, softly singing about making someone feel her love. She stood for a moment, watching her move. Her hair wasn’t straightened today, wasn’t taken care of with magical product. It was wild and untamed. Her glasses sat askew on her face as she scrubbed across the counter tops.

She was wearing jogging bottoms; she was unsure why Hermione called them that. She had never seen her jogging in them. A top, too large for her, with some sort of bat symbol on it. She’d tried to explain it to her once, but Narcissa found the entire thing stupid. A man, dressed as a bat? Not her type of fiction, she supposes.

Hermione turns and see’s Narcissa stood standing there. A soft smile on the regal woman’s face. A smile 6 years ago, she never would have imagined on her face. She never would have imagined Narcissa living in her spare room either.

She looked incredibly attractive in muggle clothes but Hermione tried not to let herself think of that often. Only at night, when she was alone. When she could afford to think about all the sinful things that mouth could do to her.

She was Draco’s mother.

Draco who had been pestering her for the past month to let him see his mother. Who had been threatening to break in so much that she had warded her apartment to prevent him from trying. Luna tried to keep him calm, but Draco wouldn’t let up. He kept repeatedly asking if Narcissa knew he was sorry. Sorry. Five letter word that supposedly fixes everything.

But just because you’re sorry and someone forgives you, it doesn’t mean you forget the hurt you felt.

Sometimes. Just sometimes. The scar on Hermione’s arm that Bellatrix left, burned. She wasn’t sure why. Honestly, sometimes she thought she was just imagining it. Sometimes after a hard day, when the scar was burning and she saw Narcissa sipping tea and reading a book, anger welled inside her. She had wanted to explode the tea and ask Narcissa how she watched her be tortured on the floor of her mansion and do nothing.

Until a week ago, when her bill for centaur rights had been shot down, when Draco had pestered her too much, when Ron had made an unkind comment about her lack of love life, that she had come home and exploded the tea.

Sometimes Wandless magic was very unpredictable. Magic was tied to your emotions after all.

Narcissa had shot up as the china fell to the floor, a cut on her cheek were a stay piece had hit her. She’d turned to Hermione with such alarm, ready to pull her wand out, when she had saw her stood there. Fists clench by her side, leather satchel on the floor, carelessly discarded. Hermione’s eyes had been clenched shut also, keeping her tears at bay.

Narcissa had said nothing at first. She had walked towards the woman and taken her coat off. She had lead her to the sofa, sat her down, cleaned up the mess and put a mug of steaming hot tea in font of her.

She’d then begun to tell Hermione about her day. She’d told her she’d gone out and found the waterstones that Hermione was often talking about. She’d browsed the five levels of the store for what seemed like hours. She’d decided to read “The Price of Salt” like Hermione had recommended. She could understand Carol’s motivations. Could understand her desire to keep her daughter but also live her life full of love.

Hermione had calmed, listening to Narcissa tell her, her favourite parts of the novel, the parts that made her heart skip a beat and the parts that had made her cry. She’d tried to apologise to Narcissa, had helped heal the cut on her cheek so it wouldn’t scar but the woman had just smiled at her. She had been so understanding.

Then she had surprised Hermione even more.

She’d confessed that Hermione was part of the nightmares she had. Hermione knew Narcissa suffered from them, she’d awoken many a nights to the pained screams that were ripped out of Narcissa’s throat. She’d thought she’d dreamt of her own torture at the hands of Voldemort.

She was wrong.

Narcissa confessed to her that she often saw Hermione on the cold floor, her eyes looking up at her, begging Narcissa to do something, to stop her sister, to stop her pain. She’d been a coward. Too afraid to stop Bellatrix and have her move onto hurting Draco. To killing Draco, to calling Narcissa a blood traitor for trying to save a muggleborn.

She was afraid if she tried to stop Bellatrix, her entire family would be murdered for her efforts. She was afraid they’d realise that Narcissa took every torture offered to prevent Draco from being hurt. She still heard Lucius’s pained screams in her head from one of the few times she was forced to witness his torture at the hands of his own friends.

She dreamt of Lily’s beautiful eyes, so lifeless. A baby crying in the background as she lay discarded on the floor by a man who was so bent by power, who could feel nothing due to his mother’s own discretions. A man she would serve. A man she would let into her own home. 

Narcissa had confessed that she hated herself.

Hermione got the answers she had needed but found that it didn’t make her anymore whole. They had all had their wounds from the war. All had their regrets. Their moments of cowardice or their moments of heroism.

No one had left that war unscathed.

The air was clear. Narcissa was doing better though she sometimes watches as a desperate looked flashed across her face after a bad night or a bad day. The longing for alcohol to solve your problems, to stop you feeling for a moment, for a night, never really stops. She’d watched her father contemplate just one beer. Just one glass of wine.

The problem she had explained to Narcissa, that once you have a problem with alcohol, it’s never really just one.

One always turns to more and soon you’ve lost yourself in the temporary bliss of not feeling anything but the small high it gives you to be drunk.

She didn’t know if she could ever forgive herself for her father.

Narcissa assured her that in time, their relationship would be better. They would learn that she was a soldier in a war where her opponents would gladly torture and kill muggles for the fun of it. That she was a daughter afraid to lose her parents before their time.

Hermione may not have done the right thing but she had done what she could to protect them. They were lucky to be alive. Lucky Bellatrix hadn’t managed to track them down. If she hadn’t of killed them, they would have ended up wishing for death.

Hermione moves towards Narcissa, grabbing her hand and sitting her on the sofa’s as the radio chirps on in the background about half price windows. She watches as the witch leaves her there momentarily to put a coffee that had been charmed to keep warm from Narcissa’s favourite independent coffee shop.

Narcissa arched her eyebrow, suspicious of this. Hermione was trying to sweeten her up for something.

“Hear me out.” The younger girl began and Narcissa groaned loudly. She knew it. She knew Hermione had some sort of plan that she wouldn’t be willing to go along with, without bribery. “I said hear me out, you can’t groan before you know what I’m going to say.”

“Miss Granger, starting a conversation with bribery and hear me out means that no doubt, I am not going to like what you have to say to me, I’m surprised you haven’t brought young Teddy round to ask me, you know I can’t possibly say not to him.” Narcissa says with disdain. She knew she would be going along with whatever Hermione said but of course, she didn’t want to make it too easy for her.

“I tried but Andromeda was taking him swimming and told me I couldn’t use Teddy in my schemes.” Hermione blushed as Narcissa chuckled. “But, I’ve got you a coffee and I have another proposal that you shall find out afterwards, if you agree to my plan.”

“Really now, and what would this proposal be?” Narcissa licked her lips as she let her eyes travel around Hermione’s body. She did quite love winding the witch up. She loved watching the blush rise in the witches cheeks at any innuendo or implication she would cast. 

“Oh, do behave.” Hermione refused to look at the older woman who was probably looking at her like she was some delicious cake to eat. “I’m completely fed up with Draco Malfoy sending me bloody howlers to the office, demanding to see you, I have arranged for your son and Luna to come here tomorrow, she will be his support and I will be yours.”

“Absolutely not, I’m not ready.” The smile dropped from Narcissa’s face and the coldness that had been drilled into her as a child rose up. “I will not be forced to see me son, let alone see my son and the girl who he is very clearly enamoured with if his letters are anything to go by, is it not enough that I owl him?”

“I know you’re afraid.” Hermione placed her hand on the woman’s leg. “But its time you see Draco, time you tell him everything, you’ve told Lucius and he’s supportive of you and giving you space but this is your son, you need to see him and he needs to see you too, this is part of your recovery Narcissa, you know you need this.”

That gave Narcissa pause. There was so much that needed clearing up between her and her son. So much that needed resolving. Now it appears he was in a relationship with someone he held captive. She knew he’d met Luna’s father and they’d cleared the air but she doubted he would ever forgive her son, forgive her from what they put her through.

Luna reminded her of her mother. She’d been very forgiving too. Pandora had gone to Hogwarts with her. She’d been very much the strange one like Luna but Narcissa had liked her. She’d often found her in the potions classroom after hours. They’d talk sometimes. Talk about what had been expected from them.

Narcissa had disgraced her memory of their friendship by keeping her daughter captive, no matter how much care had gone into keeping Luna alive and well fed.

She was one more person she would have to make apologies too. One more person who would be haunted by Narcissa’s cowardice in the final war. She felt Hermione squeeze her leg and was brought back into the living room. The brunette looking at her with concern.

“I..agree.” She watched Hermione’s face light up. “I do hope the other piece of bribery is worth getting pulled through the emotional ringer is worth it, perhaps you’ll let me take you shopping for clothing that you don’t buy in a store for the elderly?”

“Honestly, I don’t know why I don’t just hex you.” Hermione rolled her eyes but the grin on her face told Narcissa she was joking. “I will take you to the Square in London, it’s a refined restaurant, top level dining, it’ll cost more than the flat does monthly but I think you deserve a treat.”

Narcissa’s mouth dropped. Did..did Hermione Granger just ask her out on a date? Or was this, was this just a friendship dinner. Hermione seemed to pick up on the mood change in her and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Have I said something wrong?” She asked, fear lilted every word. The younger woman watched as Narcissa shifted on the sofa. She leant forward and sipped the coffee, black, with one sugar, it was perfect.

“Hermione, I’m sure you have something better to do on a Friday night, after you’ve watched me emotionally reunite with my son, that take an old woman out to dinner.” Narcissa placed the coffee cup down. “You don’t to treat me to anything, if anything I should be taking you to dinner for everything you have done for me, even if it was just a favour to Andromeda.”

“It may have started off as a favour but I do believe we have become friends have we not, and friends give each other rewards and treats, so why can’t I treat you?” Hermione was sure what was happening but the cold expression that had come across Narcissa’s face made her heart drop. Narcissa was forcing her walls back up.

“Really?” Narcissa drawled. “Do friends look at each other the way you look at me?” Hermione’s breath hitched. She’d thought she’d been subtle. Thought she had managed to hide her lingering gaze.

“If you’re going to start being cruel because you’re afraid, you’re going to stop now because I won’t take it from you Narcissa, I won’t let you hurt me because you’re afraid.” Hermione narrowed her eyes. “We’ve become close, I’ve held you during withdrawals, I’ve held you during nightmares and you’ve held me, you’ve treated me to my favourite muggle chocolate bars, you’ve been petting and looking after Crookshanks, now I’ve gone back to work.”

Hermione took a breath and looked into the blonde’s eyes.

“You don’t get to pretend you feel nothing for me when we both know you like getting under my skin because you find my blush attractive.” Hermione stated. “You don’t get to pretend nothing is going on here because you’re afraid of our age gap or my friendship with Draco, its far too late for us to pretend nothing is here, far too late to pretend that you we’re excited at the mention of dinner because it may be a date and it can be a date.”

Hermione squeezed the woman’s leg again.

“Just be brave and say yes.” She closed her eyes. Someone else had said something like that to her once.

Green eyes. Red hair. She wasn’t brave for Lily.

“Yes.” Narcissa swallows. “Yes I will go to dinner with you after Draco, yes it will be a date, yes we are possibly making a massive mistake, yes I am terrified, yes I want you, yes, Hermione, is that what you wanted me to say?”

“Yes.” Hermione smiles before pressing a soft kiss to Narcissa’s cheek. “Yes.”

The next day, Narcissa had two things to be terrified about. Firstly, Draco would be attending the small but homely muggle appointment with Luna Lovegood, current love interest former captive of her basement/dungeons, secondly, Hermione was taking her out to dinner later, a dinner which was a date.

She had a date.

She’d never been on a date.

She tried not to hyperventilate. She wondered if Draco would think his mother gone mad. She was sat in yet another pair of chee chees, chinos? Whatever they were bloody called, this time in black with a emerald green silk shirt. Her hair was straightened, she felt this gave her a softer look. Hermione insisted on doing it with muggle straighteners.

Honestly, the woman was turning her into someone else entirely.

She quite enjoyed it.

She heard the roar of the floo as Draco and Luna stood in Hermione’s living room. The blonde in pale blue sweater and jeans, Draco in a navy suit, standing next to her. He had grown a tamed beard, his hair, longer than before sat on his shoulders.

She sat on the sofa, staring up at him as Hermione entered from the hallway and grinned, wrapping her arms around them both as the hugged her back. Narcissa stood as Hermione moved to get them drinks and biscuits. She watched as her son looked upon her, surprised clearly at her outfit and the way she looked.

She looked healthier. Gone were her sunken eyes, her thin frame was fuller now. She didn’t look like she was longing for her next drink but for once in his life, Draco noticed she looked guarded towards him. He smiled at her and embraced her in a hug. She leant into him and a took a deep breath, smelling his expensive cologne. She leaned back and kissed him on the forehead.

“Hello Draco.” She whispered to him. “Its very good to see you.” She was surprised as tears fill his eyes and he pulled her back in for a tighter hug. She could feel his body shaking as his emotions took control and she held him. She remembered when he would crawl in between her and Lucius as he slept. Remembered those big eyes of his looking up at her in wonder as she told him she would always be there to scare the monsters away.

In the end, she had been there to take the beatings of the monsters for him.

He moved back and she ushered him to the sofa, wiping the tears from his eyes. They sat down and she looked upon her little boy, now a man. She turned to look at Luna who was smiling at them both. She left him there for a moment to embrace the girl who had been keeping her son happy, keeping him on the right, new path.

She watched the girl’s eyes sparkle as she leant back. She looked so much like Pandora. She knew the woman would be so very proud of her daughter.

“Words cannot justify how sorry I am for what I and my family did to you.” Narcissa said. “I have wronged you, I held you captive and I understand if you don’t forgive me.”

“I forgive you.” Luna says so sincerely, it makes Narcissa want to cry. “You looked after me, you could have left me down there without food or water or warmth, you wouldn’t let them truly hurt me, you may not think you were brave, but you were.”

Narcissa crumbles a bit there and her eyes fill with tears but Hermione is by her side. She leads her back to her seat net to Draco and places green tea in front of her. Narcissa wrinkles her nose at this but Hermione gives her a pointed stare. No doubt a stare that says, its good for you, drink it.

She smiles fondly as the witch winks at her as takes a seat in the armchair, as Luna sits on the floor. Narcissa offer’s Luna her seat but the witch shakes her head. Smiling and saying she prefers the floor and she knows Draco has missed her. She grins as Draco blushes.

“So, how has it been staying with Granger?” He asks a boyish grin on his face. “Hope she’s been treating you well and not getting on your nerves prattling on about her numerous causes.”

“Hermione, has looked after me and made sure I’m well enough to be talking to you here, she’s been nothing but kind, she has treated me better than most would think I deserve, better than I know I deserve.” Narcissa says softly, as she turns to look at Hermione who shakes her head.

“Don’t be an idiot, Narcissa, we’ve talked about this.” Hermione chuckled. “Plus, I did explode a tea cup on you.” Draco looks horrified at Hermione as Narcissa laughs at the memory, her hand touching her cheek where she knows they healed the cut.

“Yes well, you didn’t mean to do that.” The blonde doesn’t break eye contact from Hermione. “I’m sure we have plenty of times for me to explode things around you too, could start now if you wanted?” She eyes Hermione’s teacup as the younger woman looked offended.

“I’m going to have to say no.” Hermione smirks. “Anyway, Draco, Luna how are you both, I heard from Harry that you’d both been off hunting for artifacts?”

“Yes well, father had let me into the basement to have a look at the cursed ones and it has made me wonder how many lost artifacts have been gathered around the globe, how many do we think are fake or just stories, we’ve been in Ireland recently to see what we can find there.” Draco explained, as Luna grinned, moving to lean against his legs.

“It’s been very entertaining as well to realise that Draco isn’t very equipped to be some sort of explorer, we came across some gulping plimpys and he really had no idea what to do.” Luna looked up at the man, who blushed but stared at her with fondness.

“Yes well, Draco I’m afraid has spent most of his life being spoiled.” Narcissa chuckled. “How is your father, we’ve been owling but I haven’t yet seen him?”

“Well, he seems happy, he and Anastacia are in France currently as you probably know, celebrating their engagement.” Draco looked awkward, like he is awaiting her to break out in tears at any moment at the mention of her former husband and his fiancée.

“Yes, I’m aware, I helped him pick out the ring, he kept allowing me cut outs.” She hums. “He always struggled to make choices like that, always afraid to choose the wrong thing, I do wish he trusted himself more.” She smiles. “I can’t wait to meet her, she seems rather lovely.”

Draco stares at her. His face unmoving, no smile, just staring. He shakes his head at her.

“How can you be so fine with this, you and father were married for years and he just ups and leaves you for another woman and you’re fine?” Draco narrows his eyes and Narcissa feels the first bit of anger well up in her chest.

“Draco, you seem to forget its been over a year since you’ve seen me, over a year since your father fell in love with someone else and left me for them, I have had time to cope with the loss of your father in my life as a husband but he has never stopped being my best friend.” Narcissa stares at him. “You weren’t here when I wasn’t fine with this.”

“Yes, I had left, I had left for my own wellbeing and I think its time for you to stop punishing me for it.” She hears Hermione groan and watches Luna move away from Draco.

“You think I’m punishing you for leaving me, for your own wellbeing?” Narcissa laughs coldly. “Draco, you left and didn’t speak to me for a year, I got updates from Harry, I’m not punishing you, you broke my heart by ignoring me for a year, for not just talking to me, to find out why I did what I did.”

Draco’s face dropped at that. He looked unsure and began to tap his foot on the floor. A sign of nervousness he had actually picked up from his mother.

“I was devastated and alone, Andromeda luckily took me in but in the end, I proved too good at hiding my problems from here and if it wasn’t for a chance meeting with Hermione, its likely I would have drank myself to death Draco.” She watches as realization falls over Draco. “I simply didn’t want to live for a while, I am full of so much regret an grief, for letting Hermione get tortured, for you taking the dark mark, for not saving Bella, for not saving Nymphadora and Remus.” She took a breath. “For not being brave enough to leave my parents all those years ago for the woman I loved.”

The cup of tea Draco had taken from the table, fell to the floor. It fell on the carpet and Hermione was quick with her wand to clear it. Draco wasn’t looking at Narcissa. He was staring at the floor. She could see the cogs turning in his head.

“Woman?” He asked quietly. “Did you just come out to me, mother…did did..father know?” Draco turns to look at her and his eyes are full of sadness. “Have you spent your entire life married to my father, when you didn’t love him, were you forced too, Christ was I..did you want me?”

“Oh Draco.” Narcissa lunges forward and pulls him into her arms. “Of course you were wanted, I am so grateful to have you and although I regret not being brave, I never regret having you and to answer your questions your father knew of my love before him and I loved your father with all my heart, it was the war that broke us, nothing else.” Narcissa pulled back and kissed him on the forehead. “I will always love you and I will always adore your father.”

“There’s so much I don’t know about you.” He looks at his mother, expression etched in regret. “So much I ignored, you were tortured for me, for father, every time we messed up and part of me knew it and ignored it, Andromeda, she described your..” Narcissa stops him by raising her hand.

“I am not ready to talk about this.” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry sweetheart, there are some things that are going to take time for me to discuss, now tell me, how did you manage to convince Luna that you weren’t an utter prat.”

She hears Hermione burst into hysterics as Luna chuckles. Her son looks at her with an expression filled with mirth now, no regret on his face and tells her freely, without any concern that his mother wouldn’t approve, just how much he loves Luna Lovegood.

They talk for hours and in fact run out of teabags by the end of it. She promises Hermione that she would go out to tesco and fetch some but the witch doesn’t allow her. As soon as her son and his partner leave, Hermione informs her that she’s going to Pansy’s to get dressed for their date and she will meet her at the restaurant in just under two hours.

Narcissa doesn’t have time to be astounded by Hermione’s friendship with Pansy because the witch kisses her softly on the cheek and then apparates away.

Leaving Narcissa to panic about what to wear.

Hermione is late. Well. Not really. Hermione is always early. She would normally be here by now. Its 18:55 and Hermione agreed to meet her at 19:00. It leaves her worried. Maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she had told Pansy she was going out to dinner with her and Pansy had decided to hold her captive and talk sense into her.

She looks down at the dress she’d chosen to wear. Wondering if it was too fancy. She wore a silver gown, enriched with silver bugle beads, a silver metal belt to enhance the outfit. She was broken from her next line of thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. She turned and her mouth fell open.

Hermione’s hair was curled and she wore a green lacey dress with a plunging neckline. Narcissa felt her heart race. She would very happily skip the dinner right now. She swallowed and leant in, brushing her lips against Hermione’s cheek as the woman blushed.

“Hermione, you look fantastic.” Narcissa’s voice was husky, the want in it evident, she cleared her throat in embarrassment.

“You look breath taking Narcissa, now lets go inside and eat.” Hermione grinned, pulling the woman inside the expensive restaurant.

Narcissa gaped at the prices at the restaurant, ready to stand up and drag Hermione out of the restaurant with her and cook her dinner instead but the witch refused. She told her that they both deserved a break and somewhere nice to eat. She’d been stressed at work and come up against blockage after blockage but she had finally got the bill for rights for centaurs to pass.

They discussed Draco and Luna. They talked about how in love they both seemed and touched on the subject that all that long ago Narcissa wouldn’t have been happy with the match. When Hermione had mentioned Pansy the woman had laughed. She had informed Hermione that she was well aware of Pansy’s sexuality and that Draco was, as muggles called it, a beard.

She asked Hermione how they had both become friends. Apparently when Draco had appeared at Harry’s he had sent for Pansy also. It had taken a while but they’d all become a strong unit, all began to stand as one, houses forgotten. They both worked at the ministry with Pansy working in the department of mysteries with Draco and Luna and Hermione in the department of magical creatures.

They talked about Ron and Harry. How Hermione’s friendship with them was still strong, even though she and Ron hadn’t worked out. They talked until all they could do was sit and eat their incredibly expensive but small dishes of food and drink their expensive juices.

After the dinner Hermione had taken Narcissa for a walk across the Thames, both stopping in the middle to look over the river and the boats that bobbed up and down it.

Narcissa looked over at the younger woman, in her gorgeous green dress. Hermione sensed the woman staring at turned, an amused smile on her face.

“I would have thought a pureblood woman like yourself would have known it to be rude to stare.” Hermione teased her as she leant on the wall, looking up at the slightly taller woman. “Do you see something you like Miss Black?”

“I do indeed Miss Granger but before I go any further, I wish to make sure that you are sure, this isn’t going to be easy Hermione.” Narcissa sighed as she moved her hand up to cup Hermione’s cheek. “You’re the same age as my son, you’re also his friend and I’m pretty sure my sister will also try to hex me once she finds out.”

“Then I will he her back, I know what I’m doing Narcissa and I know what I want, the road ahead isn’t going to be easy but it will be so worth it.” Hermione moved closer until her lips brushed against Narcissa’s. “You just have to trust me, trust me and be brave.”

Narcissa’s breath caught in her throat. Be brave. Be brave and trust Hermione. Hermione who had taken her in, who had worked to put her back together again.

Trust her?

She’d die for her.

Narcissa leant forward and kissed her softly. Her hands slide around Hermione’s waist and pulled her until they were pressed against each other. They broke apart laughing as someone whooped at them from a bicycle.

She would do this. She could do this. She would be brave.


End file.
